Device for retrieving spinners or the like



A ril 14, 1953 G. 0. BROWN ETAL DEVICE FOR RETRIEVING SPINNERS OR THE LIKE Filed June 17, 1948 'INVENTORS GERALD 0. BROWN HENRY E. DURCHOLZ ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 14, 1953 DEVICE non remain-vine ISPINNERS on THE LIKE Gerald 0.. Brown and Henry 'E. Durcholz, Denver, 0010.; Arlene Durholz, ,administratrix of said Henry E. 'Dnrcholz, deceased; assignor to said 'Brown Application June 17,194s,sena1lNo.es,4.54 I

' *11 .This invention relates to devices for etrievin spinners and the like.

.Asis well known to followers of the :art o'fp -catorial capture, thepossibility of lossof a sp or other lure provided withahook is ever present, .due to the propensity for hooks to catch .or hecome embedded in .stumps or sunkenlogs, .or t catch orlbecome wedged ibetweenrocks or other objects lyin beneath the Water. One Or more spoons or other lures maybe attached to a steel wire or the like, serving as a leader, and when the hook or a spoon becomes so caught, attempts to dislodge the same often result merely in break- "m the line, the latter normally :be'in weaker than the wire .or leader.

Among the objects of the pres'entjinvent'ion are .to provide a new improved device for retrieving spinners and the like; to provide such .a device .Whichcan readily .be passed down the line to the .s'pin'nerlor the like; .toprovidesuch a device which can .be .used in dislodgingor retrieving a spinner orlthe like, Without causing the fishing .line to .break, by the imposition ofan .un'dueload there'- on'; to ,lprovidesuch a device .Which may bemade inany one'of several forms; and to provide such accordance with this invention, and .shown in association with .a portion .of a line which has been passed therethrough preparatory to its use in retrieving a spinner .or the like;

Fig. 2 is aside elevationof the .device of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is .a fragmentary top plan view of the upper portion of the device;

Fig.4 is a front .elevation'of an alternative embodiment of the device of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view .of the upper portion of. the device of Fig. 4.; and

.Fig. -6 is a representation of a .spinnercaught on a' sunken stump and illustrating th use of the device of this invention in ,dislodg'ing the spinner. As illustrated in Figs. 1-3, a preferred embodi- 4 Claims. (01. 43-17:?)

.men't ofa device constructed .in accordance with the invention, .for retrievin spinners and like, comprises va ring or ring-shaped member 10 formed of metal rod or the like, and provided at one side with a U-shapedhook or catch 1I'| ,;pr.ef- .erablyiormed integrally with'the ring Ill. Opposite the U-.h0ok l, the ring I0 is ,provlidedwith .a .lap joint l2 which is adapted to 'b separated '.so that a fishing .line l4 maybe passed themthrough, into the interior of the ring 510. Each .U-hook H preferably has parallel sides spaced .a sumcient .distanceaparlt so that a wire .orfleader will pass readily to the lower end, but .a spoon or other equipment on the wire will .not pass through the book. However, the generally U.- shap'ed hook .may'lhavev tapering or otherwi'se'finclined sides, as long as it will catch on the equipment-or the wire-or leader, and the space Within the hook is in communication with the space Within the ring.

A cord 15, which is preferably considerably :stronger than the fishing line. I4, is attached to the ring H], as by a loop I15, which .is adapted to be slid to one .side of the joint IE to enable the .line .14 to be passed into the ring, after which the loop 16 may ,be-slid back over .thejoint 12. .Ring

..|', in addition to being relatively heavy, also preferably has sufiicient resilience to Cause the joint I2 to snap back to closed position after the slime M has been inserted within thering,

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the ring 10' is provided with two U-hooks .H, disposed adjacent each other -..opposite the joint l2 which, as in Fig. 5,, may be a .long tapered joint. Also, the upper end of ring l0 may be provided with a bend or outwardly extending bulge H, to position the cord accurately. It will be understood that any desired number of closed hooks I' l may :be provided, and that the joint generally opposite thereto may be of other types, in addition to the lap joint I2 of Fig. 3 and the long tapered joint 12 of Fig. 5.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, a wire vQr leader 18, attached to the .lower end of line M, is provided with .a plurality ofspoons l9 and a hook 20,, .In

the event that the hook 20 becomes embedded, entangled, or otherwise caught beneath the water, as on a stump S, the fishing line 14 is passed within the ring 10 .in the manner previously described. (While the hook is illustrated as being caught on stump S, it will be understood that one of the spoons may be caught.) Due to the weight of th device, it will move by gravity down the line I4, as in the dotted position of Fig 6, the weight of U-hook II holding the U-hook lowermost and preventing the U-hook II from striking any of the spoons I9 during further movement down wire I8. Thus, slack on the cord I5 will permit the device to move down the line I4, and then down the wir l8, moving over the spoons I9, until the desired position is reached. It will be understood that it is only necessaryfor the ring to pass below the uppermost spoon, in order that the spinner wire I8 may be engaged by the closed U-hook II. Also, it may be found that when the line I4 is in a slanted position, as shown, that the ring I 0 tends to stop above the uppermost spinner, when sliding down the line. In such instance, or preferably initially, the boat is backed or moved around until the line I 4 is vertical, in which case the ring II) will readily drop down the line I4 and to the obstruction on which the spinner is caught.

By pulling on the cord I5 at an angle to the line I4, such as at a spaced position from the tip of the fishing pole, the U-hook II, which is disposed opposite the point of attachment of the cord I5, will move onto the wire I8 and will catch on the next higher spoon or other portion of the equipment mounted on the wire. A sufficiently strong pull on cord I5 will disengage the spinner from the stump S or other obstruction, and the loss of the entire spinner, as well as perhaps a portion of the line I4, is avoided. Of course, when the spinner is pulled loose, the hook which is caught may be broken or otherwise damaged, but the loss of a single hook is much less expensive than the loss of an entire spinner, or the entire spinner and a portion of the line.

As will be evident, a construction which includes more than one U-hook operates in substantially the same manner as the construction which includes one only.

From the foregoing, it is evident that the device of this invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objects hereinbefore set forth. A ring of sufiicient diameter to pass freely over the normal equipment on a fishin line and any extension thereof, and having a closed U- hook or the like adapted to engage a portion of the equipment adjacent the lower end of the line, not only passes readily down the line, but also is highly successful in freeing the line. The attachment of a pulling cord or the like to the ring permits a strong pull, which is necessary for successful release of the spinner or the like, in many situations. The attachment of the pulling cord to the ring at a point opposite or substantially opposite the U-hook results in the hook being pulled onto the leader or spinner wire, when the cord is pulled. The hook tends to maintain the ring in the desired position, i. e. underneath the line during downward movement, when the line i slanting. A joint in the ring opposite the U-hook enables the fishing line to be readily passed into the center of the ring, and when the ring is made of resilient material so that the joint tends to close after the fishing line is placed in the center of the ring, there is little chance for the ring to fall oil the line during downward travel. In addition, when the cord loop is positioned over the joint, the possibility of the ring falling off the line is substantially completely prevented.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the device of this invention, since other types of joints in the ring, for passage of the line therethrough, may be utilized, in addition to those shown. Also, more than two U-hooks may be provided, and the shape of the U-hooks may vary, as indicated previously. A wide range of materials may be used, although the preferred material are steel, bronze, or the like, which are sufiiciently heavy to cause the device to pass readily down the line, but also are sufficiently resilient to permit the line introducing joint to be opened for insertion of the fishing line. While the device is conveniently made of rod having a circular cross section, other cross sectional shapes, such as oval, or having one or more fiat sides, are permissible. In addition, the ring itself need not be circular, but may be oval, elliptical or otherwise shaped.

Although two embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that other embodiments may exist. and that various changes in addition to those enumerated may be made, all without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for retrieving spinners and the like attached to a fishing line, comprising a One-piece, ring-like member having at its lower endat least one integral, generally U-shaped hook, and provided at its upper end with a lap joint slot extending thereacross, the ends of said slot being spaced apart and said member being formed of sumciently resilient material that said joint may be opened to admit a fishing line to the interior of said member, said hook having substantially parallel sides, the diameter of said ring-like member being sufiicient to pass over a spinner or the like while sliding down said line with said hook depending therefrom, and the sides of said hook being spaced apart a distance less than the width of said spinner or the like.

2. A device for retrieving spinners and the lik attached to a fishing line, as defined in claim 1, wherein said ring-like member is formed from a rod having a circular cross section.

3. A device for retrieving spinners and the like attached to a fishing line, comprising a generally circular, one-piece, ring-like member having at its lower end at least one integral, generally U- shaped hook, and at its upper end an upwardly extending bulge provided with a joint slot extending across said bulge, the ends of said slot being spaced apart and said member being formed of sufficiently resilient material that said joint may be opened to admit a fishing line to the interior of said member, said hook having substantially parallel sides, the diameter of said ring-like member being sufiicient to pass over a spinner or the like while sliding down said line with said hook depending therefrom, and the sides of said hook being spaced apart a distance less than the Width of said spinner or the like.

4. A device for retrieving spinners and the like attached to a fishing line, comprising a one-piece, ring-like member having at its lower end a plurality of integral, generally U-shaped hooks, and provided at its upper end with a joint slot extending thereacross, the ends of said slot being spaced apart and said member being formed of sufliciently resilient material that said joint may be opened to admit a fishing line to the interior of said member, each said hook having substantially parallel sides, the diameter of said ring-like member being sufficient to pass over a spinner or the like while sliding down said line with said hooks depending therefrom, and the sides of each 5 6 said hook being spaced apart a distance less than Number Name Date the width of said spinner or the like. 1,044,792 Levy Nov. 19, 1912 GERALD 0. BROWN. 1,132,859 Kohl Mar. 23, 1915 HENRY E. DURCHOLZ. 1,243,233 Taggart Oct. 16, 1917 5 1,286,501 Bauer Dec. 3, 1918 References Cited in the file of this patent 1,983,160 tt Jan 15, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,083,814 Bence June 15, 1937 Number Name Date 2,210,271 Thwalte Aug. 6, 1940 D. 46,935 Wakao Feb. 9, 1915 F R PATENTS Sheets July 18, Number Country Date 695, 7 R m M r- 0 6,4 Norway 5, 393 938,765 e 1909 168,186 Great Britain Sept. 1, 1921 413,538 Great Britain July 19, 1934 

